Admirals Lose Four-Goal Lead, Game to Devils

NORFOLK, Va. – Mark Barberio notched a goal and an assist as the Norfolk Admirals built a four-goal lead after two periods. However, the Albany Devils netted four goals in the third period and Joe Whitney scored 3:31 into overtime as they defeated the Admirals, 5-4. Norfolk (21-11-1-2) hosts Albany (15-13-5-2) in the rematch tomorrow night at Scope.

Norfolk opened the scoring, 1-0, midway through the first period. After a Matt Fornataro shot was kicked out by Devils netminder Jeff Frazee, Barberio sent the rebound under the glove of the goaltender for his fourth goal of the season at 9:04.

With just eight seconds remaining in the first period, Ashton’s 15th goal of the season gave the Admirals a 2-0 lead. Richard Panik fended off a defender in the left circle and passed to his right to Philip-Michael Devos. Devos quickly shuffled the puck to Ashton in the bottom of the right circle, and Ashton quickly sent a shot behind Frazee.

The home team opened up a 3-0 lead 7:29 into the second period on a Smith power play goal. Barberio sent a high shot from the slot that Smith deflected under the blocker of Frazee for his 16th goal of the year.

The Admirals lead grew to 4-0 at 12:47 of the second period. Oberg, who had arrived after being reassigned to the Admirals by Tampa Bay only a half hour before game time, sent a shot through traffic from the left point over the glove of Frazee for his first goal as an Admiral.

The final period belonged to the Devils, who got on the board when Nick Palmieri redirected a shot behind Admirals netminder Dustin Tokarski at 7:47.

Just over two minutes later, Mike Hoeffel tightened the Admirals lead to 4-2 as he sent a shot from the lower slot over the glove hand of Tokarski at 10:06 of the third period.

Just 53 seconds later, Matt Anderson picked up a rebound in front of the Admirals netted and lifted a shot over Tokarski to make the score 4-3.

The Devils tied the game at 4-4 with less than 26 seconds remaining in regulation and while Frazee was on the bench in favor of the extra attacker. After an Albany timeout, Brad Mills won an offensive faceoff back to Eric Gelinas on the point. Gelinas fired the shot through a screen and over the left shoulder of Tokarski.

The Devils capped the comeback with 1:26 remaining in overtime with a power play goal by Joe Whitney. As the Devils skated with a four-on-three advantage, Whitney found the puck in the pileup in front of the Admirals net and tucked the puck under Tokarski to give the Devils a 5-4 overtime victory.

The first 2,500 fans through the gates for tomorrow night’s rematch between the Admirals and the Devils will receive Admirals Thundersticks courtesy of SUPERCUTS. Puck drop is set for 7:15 p.m.

Individual tickets for all regular season games start at just $12. Tickets are available now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at ticketmaster.com.

Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2011-12 season tickets today. Season tickets start at just $350 while 10-Packs are available for as little as $110. Stop by the Admirals’ Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!

NOTES … Before the start of the game, Evan Oberg was re-assigned on loan from Tampa Bay and Pierre-Cedric Labrie was recalled from loan by the Lightning (NHL) … Mike Kostka’s five-game point streak was snapped in the overtime defeat … Norfolk remains undefeated in regulation in their last seven games (5-0-1-1), dating back to December 17th in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton … Prior to tonight’s contest, the Admirals were 13-0-0-0 when leading after the second period of play … Did not play: Richard Petiot, Kevin Quick, Alexandre Picard, and Ondrej Palat